Method and device for automatic dispatching of singular items, specially an individual pill

ABSTRACT

In a process and a device for automatically commissioning singular individually packaged products ( 1 ), especially a single pill, from a supply station ( 2 ) with a plurality of containers, prepackaged, preselected, flat, individually packaged product packs (“blister packs”) of the same type are arranged in stacks in assigned containers in the form of essentially vertical storage shafts ( 3 ). A blister pack ( 4 ) of a singular individually packaged product ( 1 ) to be commissioned is displaced into a lateral dispensing position (E) located outside the stack, and a receiving tray ( 5 ) is positioned under it. A dispensing unit ( 6 ) assigned to the storage shafts ( 3 ) with a dispensing finger ( 7 ) is then positioned above the individually packaged product ( 1 ) to be commissioned, which is in the dispensing position (E), and the dispensing finger ( 7 ) is moved downward toward an abutment ( 8 ) to separate the singular individually packaged product from the rest of the blister pack. The separated individually packaged product falls under its own weight into a predetermined recess ( 9 ) of the receiving tray ( 5 ). The individually packaged product ( 1 ) to be commissioned is separated by pushing the individually packaged products out of the pack by means of a pushing plunger or by cutting out the individually packaged product by means of a cutting knife.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention pertains to a process and a device forautomatically commissioning singular individually packaged products,especially a single pill, from a supply station with a plurality ofcontainers.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

In hospitals, drug doses are sorted in individual departments by thehealth care personnel for patients of that department in trays withrecesses according to the time of day at which they are to be taken;morning, noon, evening or night. The health care personnel has to spendabout 2 hours per day and department doing this, and it also requires adrug storage facility in each department, at least for a limited amountand variety of drugs, which leads to expensive stocking and the risk ofexpiration of the expiration date. Since stocking must be taken intoaccount in each department, a correspondingly large inventory of drugsmust also be kept in the hospital pharmacy or the supply pharmacy of thehospital. Packages for the department stockrooms are commissioned forthe individual departments once or even twice a day.

An automatic commissioning device for drugs (U.S. company of BAXTER),which has individual plastic containers for drugs, has been known. Thecontainers contain one type of drug as an open, i.e., unpackaged bulkproduct, which must be confirmed in writing by at least two pharmacists.Each container has a wheel-shaped dispensing device with an electricmotor-driven ejector, which is set by the manufacturer to the product tobe commissioned and is put into operation when the individually packagedproducts are commissioned and delivers a single pill into the feedhopper, through which the pill will then slide into a plastic bagassigned to the patient.

The drawback is the expensive checking, the complicated setting of thedevice, as well as the complicated design, so that only relatively fewtypes of drugs and only frequently requested drugs can be stored andcommissioned automatically. The use of such an automatic unit is limitedto 900 to 1,500 specialties in an assortment used in hospitals.

It should also be taken into account and is disadvantageous that onlyopen, unpackaged individually packaged products can be commissioned,i.e., open pills, capsules, tablets, which are filled or strewn into thecorresponding compartments of the automatic unit. Thus, only about 200unpackaged drug types are available in a hospital. The prepackaged drugtypes are unsuitable for the automatic hygienic commissioning processfrom the very beginning and must be “commissioned” by the health carepersonnel by hand.

Open unpackaged pills, etc., are also subject to a certain wear ormutual abrasion during commissioning. As a result, the single dose to beadministered cannot be exactly ascertained for a patient. Moreover,since only one feed hopper is provided for all plastic bags, crosscontamination may sometimes happen, namely, when rests of one drug comeinto contact with another drug commissioned later in the feed hopper.Finally, the commissioned plastic bags must be further handled, labeledand distributed manually. The risk of mixup of the commissioned pills upto the patient is not ruled out.

SUMMARY AND OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION

Based on the above-described state of the art, the object of the presentinvention is to provide a commissioning process and a commissioningdevice of the type described in the introduction, which process anddevice make it possible with simple means to reliably and automaticallycommission even packaged, singular individually packaged products.

The basic object of the present invention is accomplished by a processof the type described in claim 1. The process according to the presentinvention is advantageously improved by the features of claims 2 through15.

An automatic commissioning device operated according to theabove-mentioned process is characterized by the features of claim 16.The automatic commissioning device is advantageously improved by thefeatures of claims 17 through 35.

The essence of the process according to the present invention for theautomatic commissioning of singular individually packaged products,especially a single pill, from a supply station with a plurality ofcontainers is that preselected, flat, individually packaged productpacks of the same type, so-called “blister packs,” are stacked inassigned containers in the form of essentially vertical storage shafts;that a blister pack of singular individually packaged products to becommissioned is displaced into a lateral dispensing position locatedoutside the stack; that a receiving tray is positioned under theindividually packaged products, which are to be commissioned and are inthe dispensing position; that a dispensing unit assigned to the storageshafts with a dispensing finger is positioned above the individuallypackaged products, which are to be commissioned and are in thedispensing position, and the dispensing finger is moved downward towardan abutment to separate the singular individually packaged products fromthe rest of the blister pack and the separated individually packagedproducts are received in a predetermined recess of the receiving tray.

Despite automation, the blister packs are preferably placed or stackedmanually into the assigned storage shafts, because the blister packs arenormally prepackaged and presorted by the manufacturer in largeinstitutional packs. The original box containing the blister packs isthen scanned and a code is permanently assigned to it at the assignedstorage shaft. The storage shaft can now be opened. The agreement of thecode is compared each time product is introduced.

At the same time, an assigned article number and an assigned blisterarrangement (location of the drugs) are written in a transponder of thestorage shaft by means of a writing-reading unit located at thedispensing unit.

For commissioning, the lowermost blister pack of individually packagedproducts to be commissioned is preferably displaced by a displacing unitinto the dispensing position.

A coded receiving tray, especially a patient tray, is fed to thedispensing unit, and a commission given on the consumer or patient codeis transmitted to an electronic control device, especially as aislemaster computer. The data contain both the name of the article and thequantity as well as the time at which the pill is to be taken.

The electronic control device has both a control function for theindividual assembly units and checking functions for the correctselection or commissioning of all desired singular individually packagedproducts in a receiving tray.

The dispensing unit is moved by means of the electronic control deviceinto a (first) dispensing position of the storage shaft reached, and thetransporter is read. It ascertains that the correct storage shaft hasbeen reached and contains the position within the blister at which thenext dispensing will take place.

Then (or already before), the receiving or patient tray is positionedunder the above-mentioned dispensing position, i.e., under theindividually packaged products to be commissioned in the dispensingposition.

An abutment in the form of an iris is moved to the dispensing positionunder the blister and is set to the size of the individually packagedproducts.

A pushing plunger, whose size and shape are adjustable, or a cuttingknife is positioned above the individually packaged products to becommissioned, and the individually packaged products are pushed or cutoff into the recess of the receiving tray without direct contact.

Should individually packaged products, especially a drug, from anotherplane be needed, the receiving tray is transferred by means of anelevator into the desired other storage shaft plane in the case ofstorage shafts which are arranged one on top of another and are to becommissioned one after the other. This process can be minimized bystoring drugs typical of the given department in the same storage shaftplane.

The receiving tray supplied with commissioned individually packagedproducts is moved by means of the dispensing unit to a transfer stationand is transferred to the transfer station.

Finally, the receiving tray is covered and printed on at the transferstation and is delivered to the corresponding hospital department to thearea of the end user, especially a patient, preferably by means of aclosable carriage.

A device for automatically commissioning singular individually packagedproducts, especially a single pill, with a storage station withcontainers containing different types of individually packaged products,is characterized in that the containers are designed as essentiallyvertical storage shafts, with which preselected, flat, individuallypackaged product packs (“blister packs”) are assigned, and the latterare arranged in the form of a stack in the assigned storage shafts,wherein at least one displacing unit is provided, by which a blisterpack of singular individually packaged products to be commissioned canbe displaced into a lateral dispensing position located outside thestack; that a support is provided, on which a receiving tray can bepositioned in the dispensing position under individually packagedproducts to be commissioned; and that a dispensing unit assigned to thestorage shafts is provided with at least one dispensing finger, whichcan be positioned above the individually packaged products to becommissioned and are located in the dispensing position, and it can bemoved toward an abutment to separate the singular individually packagedproducts from the rest of the blister pack.

The support may be a movable receiving tray feed unit or the dispensingunit itself, by which a receiving tray having a plurality of recessescan be positioned under the individually packaged products to becommissioned, which are in the dispensing position, and a separatedindividually packaged product is received in a predetermined recess inthe position assumed.

In one variant of the embodiment, the dispensing finger comprises anessentially vertically movable pushing plunger, which pushes theindividually packaged products to be commissioned out of the packagewith the blister pack being torn open locally in the push-through area.

The pushing plunger may be an adaptive plunger, which comprises a bundleof needles that are displaceable in relation to one another and can befixed during operation.

The abutment advantageously comprises an adjustable bearing eye or anadjustable iris, which can be adjusted to the circumferential contour ofthe individually packaged products to be pushed through, such that thereis no contact during the pushing through of the individually packagedproducts.

In an alternative embodiment, the dispensing finger may have, instead ofthe pushing plunger, a cutting knife, which cuts off the individuallypackaged product to be commissioned together with the packaging areaimmediately surrounding it from the rest of the blister pack and ejectsit, packed singularly and hygienically, into a corresponding position inthe receiving tray ready to receive it.

The cutting knife advantageously has two blades arranged at an angle toone another, which preferably form an angle of 90°.

The cutting knife has at least one oblique cutting edge for effectivecutting.

The cutting knife is pivotably articulated especially to an essentiallyhorizontal axis of the dispensing finger.

The storage shafts may be arranged in a circular form around a central,rotatable dispensing unit, wherein a selected storage shaft can bereached.

In another variant, the storage shafts may be arranged in a straightline, in which case the dispensing unit is displaceable or movable alongthe row of storage shafts and a selected storage shaft can be reached.

In expanding the above-mentioned variant, two straight rows of storageshafts located at spaced locations and opposite from one another may beprovided, in which case the dispensing unit can be displaced or movedbetween the two rows of storage shafts.

The dispensing unit is preferably guided by a rail or bar and is drivenby means of a toothed belt by a drive motor arranged at one end of onerow of storage shafts.

Furthermore, a receiving tray transfer station, which can be controlledby the dispensing unit and may be arranged at the other end of the rowof storage shafts facing away from the drive motor, may be provided.

In expansion of the arrangement of storage shafts in a row or circle, atleast two rows or rings of storage shafts arranged one on top of anothermay be provided.

Rows or rings of storage shafts arranged one on top of another may beconnected to one another by a receiving tray elevator.

It is especially advantageous for a plurality of adjacent storage shaftsto form a composite, one-piece storage module and for a row of storageshafts or a ring of storage shafts to be composed of a plurality ofstorage modules.

The transfer station may have a packaging means for hygienicallypackaging a receiving tray filled with selected individually packagedproducts, in which case the individually packaged products, which aresorted in the recesses of the receiving tray, can be covered and labeledand held in the recesses up to the end user until the cover film is tornopen.

Consequently, the present invention provides a commissioning process anda commissioning device, whereby commissioning into a patient tray can beperformed, in particular, already in a hospital pharmacy or supplypharmacy. The drug can be placed from the original blister pack into oneof about 20 nests or recesses of the patient tray without anintermediate step, so that a subsequent removal of a certain dose ispossible. The drug is commissioned reliably, rapidly and unambiguously.It can be unambiguously identified after commissioning and can beunmistakably assigned to the patient. Cross contamination by moleculesof different drugs is ruled out.

The various features of novelty which characterize the invention arepointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming apart of this disclosure. For a better understanding of the invention,its operating advantages and specific objects attained by its uses,reference is made to the accompanying drawings and descriptive matter inwhich preferred embodiments of the invention are illustrated.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows a schematic side view of an automatic commissioning deviceoperated according to a process according to the present invention inseries arrangement,

FIG. 2 shows a schematic top view of the automatic commissioning deviceaccording to FIG. 1,

FIG. 3 shows a schematic front view of a row of storage shafts of theautomatic commissioning device with a blister pack in a dispensingposition,

FIG. 4 shows a schematic top view of a row of storage shafts withdifferent blister packs in dispensing positions,

FIG. 5 shows a schematic sectional view of a dispensing unit of theautomatic commissioning device,

FIG. 6 shows a schematic perspective view of the dispensing unitaccording to FIG. 5,

FIG. 7 shows a schematic side view of a push-through area of theautomatic commissioning device with blister pack, dispensing finger andabutment,

FIG. 8 shows a schematic top view of the abutment according to FIG. 7with adjustable iris,

FIG. 9 shows a schematic vertical section of another automaticcommissioning device with storage shafts arranged one on top of anotherin a circular arrangement,

FIG. 10 shows a schematic top view of the automatic commissioning deviceaccording to FIG. 9,

FIG. 11 shows a perspective view of a storage shaft with anotherdispensing fingers and receiving tray, and

FIG. 12 shows a schematic top view of a blister pack according to FIG.11 with a cutting knife.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The device for automatically commissioning singular individuallypackaged products, especially a single pill, which is shown in thedrawings, comprises a supply station 2 with a plurality of containers inthe form of vertical storage shafts 3, in which preselected, flat planarpacks of individually packaged products, so-called blister packs 4, arestacked.

The storage shafts 3 may be arranged in a circular pattern according toFIGS. 9 and 10 or in a plurality of vertical planes.

The storage shafts 3 may be arranged individually or in a modular designalternatively also in a straight row or in two straight rows locatedopposite each other according to FIGS. 1 and 2, especially also in oneor more vertical planes, and horizontal expansions 30 are alsoconceivable.

A displaceable or movable dispensing unit, which is guided by a rail orbars 35, is driven by a drive motor 22 and a toothed belt 23 and canservice a selected storage shaft 3 as well as a transfer station 17, aswill be described below, is located between two opposite rows of storageshafts. Different vertical storage shaft planes are connected byelevators 15.

A certain type of identical blister pack 4 with a blister pattern M1, M2or M3 is stored in each storage shaft 3, as is shown especially in FIGS.3 and 4.

Besides the storage shafts 3, the commissioning device has at least onedisplacing unit 11, by which a lowermost blister pack 4 in the stack ofa singular individually packaged product 1 to be commissioned can bedisplaced into a lateral dispensing position E located outside thestack; a support 18, on which a receiving tray 5 can be positioned in adispensing position E under an individually packaged product 1 to becommissioned; and the above-mentioned dispensing unit 6 assigned to thestorage shafts 3 with at least one dispensing finger 7, which can bepositioned above the individually packaged product to be commissioned,which is in the dispensing position, and can be moved downward toward anabutment 8 to separate the singular individually packaged product fromthe rest of the blister pack.

The support 11 may be a movable receiving tray feed unit or, accordingto the drawing, part of the dispensing unit 11 itself, by which areceiving tray 5 having a plurality of recesses can be positioned underthe individually packaged product to be commissioned, which is in thedispensing position, and a separated individually packaged product fallsunder its own weight in the position assumed into a predetermined recessof the receiving tray.

In one variant of the embodiment according to FIGS. 1 through 10, thedispensing finger 7 comprises an essentially vertically movable pushingplunger 13, which pushes the individually packaged product 1 to becommissioned out of the packaging with the blister pack being torn openlocally in the push-through area.

The pushing plunger is, in particular, an adapted plunger according toFIG. 7, which comprises a bundle of needles that are displaceable inrelation to one another and can be fixed during the operation.

The abutment 8 comprises an adjustable bearing eye 12 or an adjustableiris, which can be adjusted to the circular contour of the individuallypackaged products to be pushed through, such that there is no contactduring the pushing through of the individually packaged products.

In an alternative embodiment, the dispensing finger 7 according to FIGS.11 and 12 may have, instead of the pushing plunger 13, a cutting knife14, which cuts off the individually packaged product 1 to becommissioned together with the packaging area immediately surrounding itfrom the rest of the blister pack and ejects it, packaged singularly andhygienically, into a corresponding position in the receiving tray 5ready to receive it.

The cutting knife 14 has two blades arranged at an angle to one another,which have an angle of 90°, and an oblique cutting edge 20 for effectivecutting.

The cutting knife 14 is pivotably articulated to an essentiallyhorizontal axis 21 of the dispensing finger 7.

During the operation of the device, the blister packs 4 are placed orstacked manually into the assigned storage shafts 3 by a human operator.The original box containing the blister packs is then scanned andpermanently assigned to a code 34 at the assigned storage shaft 3. Thestorage shaft can now be opened. The agreement of the code is comparedeach time product is introduced.

At the same time, an assigned article number and an assigned blisterarrangement (location of the drugs) are written in a transponder 10 ofthe storage shaft by means of a writing-reading unit located at thedispensing unit 6.

For commissioning, the lowermost blister pack 4 of an individuallypackaged product 1 to be commissioned is displaced by the displacingunit 11 into a dispensing position E.

The coded receiving tray 5, especially a patient tray, is fed to thedispensing unit 6, and a commission indicated on the user or patientcode is transmitted to an electronic control device, especially an aislemaster computer. The data contain both the name of the article and thequantity as well as the time at which the drug is to be taken.

The electronic control device has both a control function for theindividual assembly units and a checking function for the correctselection or commissioning of all desired singular individually packagedproducts in the receiving tray.

The dispensing unit is moved into the dispensing position E of thestorage shaft 3 reached by means of the electronic control device, andthe transponder 10 is read. It ascertains that the correct storage shaft3 has been reached and it contains the position within the blister atwhich the next dispensing will take place.

Then (or already before), the receiving or patient tray is positionedunder the above-mentioned dispensing position, i.e., under theindividually packaged product to be commissioned in the dispensingposition E.

Under the blister, the abutment 8 in the form of an iris is moved to thedispensing position and is set to the size of the individually packagedproduct.

The pushing plunger 13, whose size and shape can be adjusted to theindividually packaged product 1 to be commissioned, or the cutting knife14 is positioned above the individually packaged product 1 to becommissioned, and the individually packaged product is pushed or cut offinto the recess of the receiving tray without direct contact.

Should an individually packaged product, especially a drug, from anotherlevel be needed, the receiving tray 5 is transferred by means of theelevator 15 into the desired other storage shaft plane in the case ofstorage shafts that are arranged one on top of another and are to becommissioned one after the other.

The receiving tray 5 provided with the commissioned individuallypackaged product 1 is moved by means of the dispensing unit 6 to thetransfer station 17 and is transferred to this transfer station.

Finally, the receiving tray 5 is covered and printed on at the transferstation and is brought into the corresponding hospital department intothe area of the end user, especially a patient, preferably by means of aclosable carriage.

In the modular design of individual storage shafts 3, it is possible toset up automatic commissioning devices of different sizes in a simplemanner, e.g., according to FIG. 1, a length 1 of a row of storage shaftsof about 5 m (5 modules) with an expansion 30 of about 2 m (2 modules),at an individual height h of about 40 cm and an individual depth t ofabout 25 cm of a storage shaft and an overall width b of about 1 m inthe case of two rows of storage shafts located opposite each otheraccording to FIGS. 2 and 5.

It shall also be noted that independently patentable features containedin the subclaims shall have a corresponding independent protectiondespite the formal reference made to the principal claim. All theinventive features contained in all the application documents also fallwithin the scope of protection of the present invention.

While specific embodiments of the invention have been shown anddescribed in detail to illustrate the application of the principles ofthe invention, it will be understood that the invention may be embodiedotherwise without departing from such principles.

What is claimed is:
 1. A process for dispensing products, the processcomprising: providing a plurality of storage shafts; loading each ofsaid plurality of storage shafts with a plurality of substantiallyplanar packs, each of the packs including a plurality of individuallypackaged products, said loading including arranging said plurality ofpacks substantially parallel to each other in said storage shafts;displacing one of the plurality of packs out of one of said plurality ofstorage stacks into a lateral dispensing position, the one pack beingdisplaced in a plane substantially parallel to the packs loaded in saidone of said storage shafts; positioning a dispensing unit with adispensing finger adjacent to one side of the one pack in said lateraldispensing position; positioning an abutment adjacent to another side ofsaid one pack in said lateral dispensing position; moving saiddispensing finger toward one of the products of the one pack to removethe one product from the one pack; positioning a receiving tray adjacentto said abutment at said lateral dispensing position to receive the oneproduct.
 2. A process in accordance with claim 1, wherein: the pluralityof packs are blister packs and the individually packaged products arepills; said loading of the packs is performed by vertically stacking;said positioning of said receiving tray is performed under the one packin said lateral dispensing position; said positioning of said dispensingunit is performed above the one pack in said lateral dispensingposition; said moving of said dispensing finger is downward and removesthe one individually packaged product from a remainder of the blisterpack.
 3. A process in accordance with claim 2, wherein: said displacingis performed on a lowermost said blister pack into said lateraldispensing position.
 4. A process in accordance with claim 1, wherein:said packs are one of stacked and placed manually into assigned saidstorage shafts.
 5. A process in accordance with claim 4, wherein: anoriginal box containing said packs is identified and is permanentlyassigned to a code at a respective said assigned storage shaft.
 6. Aprocess in accordance with claim 5, further comprising: comparing thecode assigned to said storage shaft with a code on a new pack or neworiginal box including new packs, each time the new pack or new box isloaded in said respective storage shaft.
 7. A process in accordance withclaim 1, further comprising: providing a transponder on said storageshafts; writing an assigned article number and an assigned blisterarrangement in said transponder of said storage shaft with awriting-reading unit located at said dispensing unit.
 8. A process inaccordance with claim 7, further comprising: reading said transponderwhen said dispensing unit and said receiving tray are moved into saiddispensing position to identify said storage shaft and a position of theproduct to be dispensed from the pack.
 9. A process in accordance withclaim 8, wherein: said receiving tray includes a plurality of recessesfor receiving the products, said moving of said receiving tray isperformed to position one of said recesses under the one product to bedispensed in said dispensing position, and to vertically align the onerecess of said receiving tray with the one product.
 10. A process inaccordance with claim 9, wherein: said dispensing finger has one of apushing plunger with an adjustable size and shape, and a cutting knife,positionable above the one product to one of push and cut off the oneproduct into said recess of said receiving tray without direct contactwith the one product.
 11. A process in accordance with claim 8, wherein:said moving of said abutment is performed to positioned the abutmentunder the one product which is to be removed in said dispensingposition, said abutment includes an iris and said iris is adjusted to asize of the one product.
 12. A process in accordance with claim 1,further comprising: coding said receiving tray with a code; controllingsaid moving of said receiving tray, said moving of said dispensing unitand said moving of said dispensing finger by said code on said receivingtray.
 13. A process in accordance with claim 12, wherein: saidcontrolling is performed by transmitting said code to an electroniccontrol device.
 14. A process in accordance with claim 1, furthercomprising: arranging said storage shafts in a plurality of planes oneon top of another; transferring said receiving tray by an elevatorbetween said planes of said storage shafts.
 15. A process in accordancewith claim 1, wherein: said receiving tray is moved to a plurality ofsaid storage shafts to receive a plurality of the products; saidreceiving tray is moved to a transfer station by said dispensing unitand is transferred to the transfer station.
 16. A process in accordancewith claim 15, wherein: said receiving tray is covered and printed on atsaid transfer station.
 17. A process in accordance with claim 16,further comprising: moving said receiving tray from said transferstation into an area of an end user by a closable carriage.
 18. A devicefor dispensing products, the device comprising: a plurality of storageshafts; a plurality of substantially planar packs arranged adjacent andsubstantially parallel to each other in each of said storage shafts,each of said packs including a plurality of individually packagedproducts; a displacing unit arranged with one of said storage stacks anddisplacing one of said plurality of packs out of said plurality ofstorage stacks into a lateral dispensing position, said one pack beingdisplaced in a plane substantially parallel to said packs in said one ofsaid storage shafts; a dispensing unit movable among said plurality ofstorage shafts and movable adjacent to one side of the one pack in saidlateral dispensing position, an abutment movable among said plurality ofstorage tanks and movable adjacent to another side of said one pack insaid lateral dispensing position; a dispensing finger movable on saiddispensing unit toward one of the products of the one pack to remove theone product from the one pack; a receiving tray movable among saidstorage shafts and movable adjacent to said abutment at said lateralremoving position to receive the one product.
 19. A device in accordancewith claim 18, wherein: the plurality of packs are blister packs and theindividually packaged products are pills; said packs are stackedvertically in said storage shafts; a support is provided for positioningsaid receiving tray under the one pack in said lateral dispensingposition; said dispensing finger is positioned above the one pack insaid lateral dispensing position and movable downward to remove the oneindividually packaged product from a remainder of the blister pack. 20.A device in accordance with claim 19, wherein: said receiving traydefines a plurality of recesses; said support is a movable feed unit orsaid dispensing unit itself, by which said plurality of said recesses ofsaid receiving tray can be positioned under the one individuallypackaged product which is in said dispensing position, and a separatedindividually packaged product is received in a predetermined recess inan assumed position.
 21. A device in accordance with claim 19, wherein:said dispensing finger includes a vertically movable pushing plungerwhich pushes the one individually packaged product out of the pack withsaid blister pack being torn open locally in a push-through area.
 22. Adevice in accordance with claim 21, wherein: said pushing plunger is anadaptive plunger which comprises a bundle of needles that aredisplaceable in relation to one another and can be fixed duringoperation.
 23. A device in accordance with claim 19, wherein: saiddispensing finger comprises a cutting knife which cuts off the oneindividually packaged product and packaging area immediately surroundingthe one product from a remainder of the blister pack.
 24. A device inaccordance with claim 23, wherein: said cutting knife has two bladesarranged at an angle in relation to one another.
 25. A device inaccordance with claim 24, wherein: said angle between said two blades issubstantially 90°.
 26. A device in accordance with claim 23, wherein:said cutting knife has at least one oblique cutting edge.
 27. A devicein accordance with claim 23, wherein: said cutting knife is pivotablyarticulated to a substantially horizontal axis of said dispensingfinger.
 28. A device in accordance with claim 18, wherein: said abutmentcomprises an adjustable bearing eye or an adjustable iris, said bearingeye or said iris is adjustable to a circular contour of the one product.29. A device in accordance with claim 18, wherein: said storage shaftsare arranged in a circular pattern around a central and rotatable saiddispensing unit, wherein a selected one of said storage shafts can bereached by said dispensing unit.
 30. A device in accordance with claim18, wherein: said storage shafts are arranged in a straight row and saiddispensing unit can be displaced in parallel to said row of storageshafts to reach a selected one of said storage shafts.
 31. A device inaccordance with claim 30, wherein: two straight rows of said storageshafts are located at spaced locations from, and opposite to, eachother, wherein said dispensing unit is displaceable between said tworows of storage shafts.
 32. A device in accordance with claim 30,wherein: said dispensing unit is guided by rails or bars and driven by adrive motor arranged at one end of said row of storage shafts by atoothed belt.
 33. A device in accordance with claim 32, furthercomprising: a transfer station receiving said receiving tray, saiddispensing unit being movable to said transfer station.
 34. A device inaccordance with claim 33, wherein: said transfer station is arranged atanother end of the row of storage shafts facing away from said drivemotor.
 35. A device in accordance with claim 33, wherein: said transferstation has a packaging means for hygienically packaging said receivingtray filled with selected individually packaged products, wherein theindividually packaged products are sorted in recesses of said receivingtray and are held in said recesses until end use.
 36. A device inaccordance with claim 18, wherein: two rows of said storage shaftsarranged one on top of another.
 37. A device in accordance with claim36, wherein: said rows of storage shafts arranged one on top of anotherare connected to one another by a receiving tray elevator.
 38. A devicein accordance with claim 18, wherein: a plurality of adjacent saidstorage shafts form a composite, one-piece storage module, wherein a rowof said storage shafts or a ring of said storage shafts are composed ofa plurality of said storage modules.
 39. A device in accordance withclaim 18, wherein: an electronic control unit is provided which assumesboth control functions for controlling individual assembly units andchecking functions for correct selection of the individually packagedproducts in said receiving tray.